Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Apr. 30, 2018
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000103145
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		48,691,999
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1